September 9, 2013

While reading a blog the other day, the author said she wanted to make something in a jelly roll pan but didn't have one. I died a little because my cookie sheets (they're standard half sheet pans aka jelly roll pans and measure 13 x 18) are one of my favorite kitchen tools. I use mine for cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, roasted veggies, chicken, even cupcakes (I always put a pan under the muffin tin to help keep the bottoms from getting too browned). I also use these to carry home dinner, loaves of bread (I usually make about 10 at a time in my Bosch and freeze the rest) or even craft projects when I've been working at my mom's house. The little lip on the side keeps things from tumbling out and they are easy to carry, stack, and use all the time.

I saw my favorite cookie sheets are available at Costco right now and snapped a picture to encourage you to run and buy some if you don't have them (or get them at Amazon of course). The two pack of NordicWare baking sheets is only $11.99. That's $6 each people! I can tell you from experience the one time I saw one of these pans (used) at the thrift store it was $5 (and I bought it).

When I was newlywed I foolishly thought there might be such a thing as too many cookie sheets but have since repented of such crazy talk. To be fair, I didn't make hundreds of cookies or cupcakes back then like I do now. So I say the more the merrier with these handy pans. Barefoot Contessa has a huge stack in her pantry I covet every time I see it.

I've also slowly built up my Silpat collection and now have one for each of my pans (along with a plastic lid- they're so handy). You can read more about Silpats here. I do not miss greasing my pans or scrubby out gunky pans one bit. Costco also has a three pack of knock off silpats (silicone baking mats). Has anyone tried them? I was kind of dying to buy them just to see how they were. Amazon has a 2 pack of generics for $16 as well. Please let me know if you've used them!

September 7, 2013

Did
you see the new Barefoot Contessa episode with Tyler Florence? Baby
rosebud and I loved it! It airs again on Monday, September 9th at noon
if you missed it (see the details here).

{look at them high five, haha!}

They
started by making a birthday cake for Tyler's son. The chocolate cake
was made with buttermilk and the batter looked amazing (Ina is a pro
after all). She made a
ganache frosting and stacked the cake up asymmetrically at Tyler's
request. They decorated the whole thing with bright candies that really
popped off the chocolate frosting. It was beautiful (and I might be
heading to ABC Cake Decorating to finally buy some legit cake pans to make it for Baby Strawberry's FOURTH! birthday next week).

Then
they went to
Ina's favorite place to buy chicken for Jeffery's dinner every Friday.
My kids loved seeing the chickens and I love Tyler quipping about how
proud he was to hear Ina's secrets.

For lunch, he made Fried chicken and
added whole fresh herbs and garlic to the oil to layer the flavors. The
seasoned flour looked amazing. He added Sriracha to the buttermilk for
even more flavor. I liked his tip to fry only a few pieces at a time to
keep the temperature up. I don't fry things often but after I watched him make this recipe I was dying to make some chicken! You can see the recipe here.

Ina
made a winter slaw recipe using shredded kale, radicchio, and Brussels
sprouts. With a fresh lemon vinaigrette, craisins, and some Parmesan, it
looked so light and yummy. I made it for dinner that night and while my
husband wasn't sure that it was actually 'Cole slaw' it was great. The
veggies were crunchy and fresh with the light dressing and the sweet and
salty kicks from the cheese and craisins were perfect. It also only
took a few minutes to make so I think it's going into regular side dish
rotation (although the kids aren't happy about that, they looked at me
like I asked them to cardboard or something!)

The best part of
the episode was when Ina boxed up the enormous three layer cake and said
"I don't envy you getting this home on the airplane." Haha! I hope you
get a chance to watch it because it was a really fun episode full of
great recipes as well. I'll let you know how that big cake goes (this is
a pretty massive undertaking considering I barely passed Wilton Course 1
Cake decorating at the craft store- the employee was hesitant to give
me the participation certificate, no lie!)

PS If you're on Pinterest... Barefoot Contessa
is finally! It's kind of fun to follow her. If you're a dork like me.
Don't tell my friend Kara I wrote this blog post. She'll die. Hopefully
some of you like Ina like I do. And try the slaw. I'd never had Brussels
sprouts before (seriously) and it was fun and yummy to try them.

September 1, 2013

I love reading other people's favorite things. Here are a few products I've been crushing on lately.

Peabody recommended Vanilla Bean Paste and I love it. The jar smells so good and the little vanilla bean flecks taste and look good. It makes my frosting extra pretty and yummy at the same time. I also love the Kirkland Vanilla from Costco if you are looking for a vanilla extract.

Stila All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
It makes a perfect cat eye and the pen shaped applicator is so easy to use. If you're not into thicker eyeliner the tapered brush does a nice thin line as well. By the end of the day it still looks perfect (and that's really saying something in the Arizona Summer!) Even better, it doesn't bother my sensitive eyes like most liquid eye liners. It's even $5 cheaper on Amazon.

The Oxo Stainless Steel Brush- I found one of these at Ross a few years ago and have been using this kind ever since. It's pretty, cleans up amazingly well, and wears so much better than the plastic kind I used to use. It really lasts forever and even my mom loves it (that's a pretty strong endorsement).

Vintage Floral iPhone Case from Agent 18. I got mine at TJ Maxx and it's really cute, super sturdy, and slides smoothly in and out of my pocket and diaper bag. I'm high maintenance like that. I've gotten a lot of comment about this case and pink puffy heart love it (although my baby liked my old higher contrast black and white one better. You win some you lose some).

My brother and sister-in-law loaned us Big Bang Theory and we're hooked. It's ridiculously funny- especially if you know a lot of engineers like we do. Try it out.

I have a few little mess makers and ended up using my Bar Keeper's Friend several times this week. My stainless steel pan looks perfect after a quick scrub, my glass stove top is shiny, my vanity is perfectly clean, and my shower is whiter now too. Plus, it's only a dollar at Target.

I hadn't read Little Women before. It was wonderful. It's free for Kindle, too. I can't believe how many sections I highlighted but I loved so much of this book:

"I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copybooks, and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end," he said dolefully. "Go and eat your dinner, you'll feel better after it. Men always croak when they are hungry," and Jo whisked out at the front door after that. "That's a 'label on my 'sect'," answered Laurie, quoting Amy." {too true!}

"Then let me advise you to take up your little burdens again, for though they seem heavy sometimes, they are good for us, and lighten as we learn to carry them. Work is wholesome, and there is plenty for everyone. It keeps us from ennui and mischief, is good for health and spirits, and gives us a sense of power and independence better than money or fashion."

"Have regular hours for work and play, make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life become a beautiful success, in spite of poverty."

I think it's time to listen to Marmee and get folding laundry and washing dishes instead of wishing away time on the internet. Read Little Women again and let me know what you think.

August 12, 2013

Have you been to Trader Joe's lately? I'm kind of hit or miss there because it's a little ways from my house but I've been stopping by more often because I keep finding amazing things (and I may or may not have been stalking the cookie butter that was in and out of stock. I hear its back now- and on Amazon of course. Too funny). The frozen fruit is great for smoothies and really well priced. On the way to the pineapple one day I saw these Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels and couldn't resist. They taste like super charged Milk Duds. Milk Duds for grown ups (but my kids loved them too).

Trader Joe's has the best salad stuff. I made an easy balsamic vinaigrette with their vinegar and Spanish olive oil (thanks to my BFF Natalie for the recommendation on the olive oil!) Toss it over their salad greens, goat cheese (also cheap and delicious), pecans, and you have a pretty dang close knock off of the French Country Salad from the Cheesecake Factory. They also sell these beets in the refridgerated section. I used them at my Bastille Day dinner and happily sliced them and threw them on the salad instead of roasting and peeling and ending up with a crazy messy kitchen right before my big dinner party. I do still want to try making them from scratch, though...

Their Yukon Gold Potatoes are seriously delicious, too. They make the most amazing mashed potatoes. My little man loves the honey whole wheat pretzel sticks (I like to dip them in the roasted rep pepper hummus). Baby Strawberry swears the JoJo's taste better than real Oreos and she's a chocolate and carbohydrate connoisseur.

What do you like at Trader Joe's? I'm always looking for something new to try...

August 1, 2013

A few weeks ago at our family reunion, we were debating the virtues of the store bought brightly frosted sugar cookie. I am a mean mom and never buy those, so my kids were dying to try one, of course. Someone said "We call these 'cancer cookies', they are full of so much garbage" and her daughter piped in "but they taste SO good!" I told them I usually make my own with this tried and true recipe. I can control all the ingredients (not that they are amazingly healthy but at least I can pronounce them) and it's fun making them, too. I used a small metal cookie scoop to make itty bitty cookies this time. They're about the size of an oreo and oh so yummy. I love the smaller portions for my littles (let's be honest, the smaller cookies just mean grown ups eat more of them).

Last time I posted these, I used my favorite Americolor gel coloring to make a bunch of different colors. It's easier than you think- I put about 3/4 cup of frosting into a mug and mix the coloring in with the knife I'll use to spread it out. These are imperfect and lovely at the same time. Washing a few mugs isn't a big deal and the rainbow effect is lovely. This time I used the standard grocery store four pack and got six fun colors easily that way. Check out this food coloringmixing chart for more color ideas. It's pretty amazing what you can do with the basic pack (though I still much prefer the lovely gel dyes).

I also gave them a dusting of edible glitter I buy locally at ABC Cake Decorating. Our aunt may call the store cookies 'cancer cookies', but we call the glitter 'cancer glitter'. I should probably stop calling it that because Baby Strawberry wanted to put some on the other day and asked for the 'cansa glitter.' There's a lively debate if non toxic means edible or not really. I just put a tiny bit on when I'm feeling fancy. *disclaimer- I'm sure it's a bad idea, but it's lovely. Use your judgement :) * It's available on Amazon, of course.

Please note- I use a mix of a butter and shortening for these cookies but whatever mix/fat you're comfortable with should be fine as long as you stick with the proper ratio. I've used all butter for a softer cookie if you'd like to omit the shortening. Let me know if you try something fancy!

Anne Strawberry's Soft Sugar Cookies{printable recipe here}adapted from Shelly Makes about 5 dozen cookies (depending
on their size). I scooped up a few dozen and froze the balls of dough to
take out and bake another time without any work.1 Cup Butter (Salted is fine), Softened1 Cup Plain Shortening (I like the blue Crisco, none of that icky 'butter flavor')2 1/4 Cups Sugar3 eggs1 Tablespoon Vanilla4 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt (I used Kosher)
Preheat the oven to 350°.Cream butter, shortening and sugar
together until light and fluffy (one or two minutes). Add one egg at a
time and beat for one minute afterwards. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the
mixer to low speed and carefully add the dry team (flour, powder,
salt). I usually turn it off first, pour them all in, cover the mixer
with a dish towel and turn it on low. Mix gently- only until the flour
is barely incorporated. Give it one last stir with a rubber/silicone
spatula to get everything off the bottom.
Roll into balls, placing about 2 inches apart on Silpat/parchment lined/greased cookie sheet. I used a regular cookie scoop
to get each cookie uniform (about 2 Tablespoons of dough in each). It
will be a little sticky, don't be surprised! If it's too tacky to work
with, add a little more flour or chill the dough in the fridge for a few
minutes.
Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes, or until they start to brown
slightly on the edges. I wanted mine extra soft and nice so I err on the
side of under done. Take them out of the oven and transfer to a cooling
rack after a couple of minutes. Frost with your favorite frosting (mine
is below). Anne Strawberry's Favorite Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened (one stick)
1 package of cream cheese, softened (I like to use Neufchatel, less fat and I don't notice much difference)
2 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or the seeds of one vanilla pod, scraped
dash of salt
6 cups of powdered sugar (more or less to achieve desired consistency, this is a baseline)
1 Tablespoon meringue powder (optional but very helpful! you can find
this in the cake decorating section at walmart, michaels, or joann's)
In a mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese and
butter until light and fluffy. Add in the milk, vanilla, and salt, and
blend.
Next, add the powdered sugar and meringue powder, cover the bowl of the
mixer with a dish towel, and turn it on low until everything is
combined. Then increase the speed for a minute or so until the frosting
is light, fluffy, and delicious. The meringue powder will help set the
frosting after it dries so it holds its shape.
Variation:
Add 1 T. Lemon or orange zest and substitute juice for the milk to make a tangy citrus frosting. Alternately, you can flavor with mint extract or almond extract.

PS Little baby Rosebud is five months old! Time flies and while I do make
dinner (and treats, too) most of the time, I still feel like my head
isn't on straight! You can see why I can't get anything done, I can't stand to put this little darling down! Even noticing herself in the mirror is adorable and she has the yummiest, chubbiest legs. Baby number three is lovely but life feels trickier
still. Is that just me? Tips and tricks anyone? Please forgive my
sporadic posting and my instagram pictures. These cookies are yummy as
can be even without a fancy blog post!

I made a modified version of my favorite frosting and poured in the
melted chocolate bar and gave it a quick mix before piping it out on
devils food cupcakes.

I also brushed the tops of the cupcakes with a little raspberry Torani strawberry syrup to reinforce the berry flavor and keep them moist. They're great for making homemade Italian sodas or fancy lemonade. The salted caramel is yummy in hot chocolate too! They are cheap and so fun at Smart at Final locally or available on Amazon of course. This isn't a necessary step but it's quick and fun for Baby Strawberry to help with and adds a little more depth of flavor.

I loved how this chocolate had little pieces of strawberries in it that made the frosting really pretty with little bits of pink mixed in. It was delicious and a fun variant from my normal frosting I use for everything.

Chop up the chocolate and melt in the microwave on low for about 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until smooth.

In
a mixer with the whisk attachment, blend the butter
until light and fluffy. Add about two cups of powdered sugar, the meringue powder, and mix until combined. Add in the vanilla, sour cream, and salt and mix. After it's all smooth and combined, mix in the melted chocolate. Mix in powdered sugar on low speed until desired consistency is reached (I like thicker frosting for decorating, especially when it's so hot!)

The meringue
powder will help set the frosting after it dries so it holds its shape. It's not necessary but makes for a much better final product. You can find it in the cake decorating section at Walmart, Michael's, JoAnn, or Hobby Lobby (or on Amazon!)

June 6, 2013

Now that my son is in school, I appreciate summer a little more! We have really enjoyed the relaxing mornings before we head out to swim team and lessons. The kids love pancakes but I usually make waffles (less babysitting involved I think) but their extra nice request was too hard to resist the other morning. I had a clearanced container of ricotta in the fridge and remembered hearing about ricotta pancakes once so to Google I happily went.

Smitten Kitchen never disappoints (she has a lovely new cookbook too) and although I didn't make the apples she suggested for her lemon ricotta pancakes, some yummy canned peaches from last fall were perfect with our favorite homemade maple syrup. Honestly, though, these tasted amazing fresh off the stove with a little butter on top. I hate lumpy pancakes (though I probably deserve them using Bisquick!) Because these pancakes are mostly ricotta and eggs, there's no lumps- just soft, tender pancakes to melt in your mouth. Next time I'll double the recipe because these were all gone before the griddle cooled with only my little man, baby strawberry and I eating them.

What's your favorite topping for pancakes and waffles? I'm going to try these with strawberries next time (surprise surprise!)

Separate the eggs and set aside the whites. In a bowl whisk together the egg YOLKS, ricotta, sugar, and zest. Lightly stir in the flour until barely combined. In a
bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt
until they hold stiff peaks. Whisk in a quarter of the whites then fold the rest in gently.
Cook the pancakes over medium heat on a griddle of flat pan brushed with butter for 1 to 2
minutes on each side, or until they are golden. The recipe will yield about a dozen 1/4 cup sized pancakes. Transfer the pancakes as
they are cooked to a heatproof platter and keep them warm in a 200°F oven (or eat them hot off the pan with a little fresh butter!) Try fresh fruit or maple syrup on top.

Combine
all ingredients in sauce pan, place over medium-high heat, and bring to
a boil. Boil for five minutes and serve over pancakes. Store leftovers
in a screw-top glass jar for a few weeks (reheat in the microwave or on
the stove).

June 4, 2013

I don't know about your family, but at our house, as soon as we walk in the door from Church the children act like I've never fed them before and start razing the pantry and fridge. To hold off the hunger tide I made this popcorn on Sunday. I saw the recipe from the Lazy Budget Chef earlier in the weekend and thought it would be worth trying. With the starving kids begging for a snack, I didn't follow the recipe but just threw a few things in a sauce pan, lets them melt together, and poured it over a big bowl of plain air popped popcorn. Lazy, quick after-Church cooking- I love when that works out!

I told my tall man that this was 'healthy caramel popcorn' and he laughed (and grabbed a handful on his way out of the kitchen). I know it's not healthy but it does have healthier ingredients. The butter is replaced by coconut oil and the brown sugar by honey. I'll admit I was skeptical. I don't love honey on it's own and was a little nervous that the final product would have a honey taste. The original recipe suggests a peanut butter variation so I went with that, figuring it would camouflage the honey. I am happy to report this tasted like the real deal. It's sweet and a little (not too) sticky, barely salty, crunchy and delicious. My mom makes peanut butter rice krispy treats that are a lot like these (but I'll take popcorn over cereal any day!)

I should also tell you- I really, really hate coconut but there's no nasty sunblock taste here even when you use the oil. Give it a try.

Please forgive the instagram photo. I have a sparkly new camera but my phone is just so easy when I'm in a time crunch!Peanut Butter Popcorn
from Anne Strawberry
aka 'Healthy Caramel Popcorn'

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut oil, honey, and peanut butter. Stir and cook until melted and combined. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Carefully pour the hot topping over the popcorn and stir with a big wooden spoon. Season with salt to taste (go easy- the peanut butter is a little salty) and enjoy!

Note- these measurements are approximates. These ingredients are way too sticky for me to measure regularly, I just eyeballed them! I'm sure butter would be a yummy substitute for the coconut oil, too, if you don't have any.

June 3, 2013

Well, I said I would be on to post about the trifle I made but writing a full on recipe and post seems about as possible as well, I don't know, most things are a little difficult right now with a cute little monkey in my arms. Getting to swim team on time is pretty impressive for now (we're 3/4 for on time, not too shabby!) I've sat down and worked on my post 15 minutes at a time for a few times but it's not finished so I thought I'd share a few things instead. For the locals, there's a new place to get your carb fix in downtown Mesa- Proof Artisan Breads. The pain au chocolat is to die for and I'm looking forward to trying some of his fancy breads. Mr. Carbohydrate was even impressed and asked when I was going to bring those home instead of gorgeous chocolate pastries he can't eat. Check it out if you're close by.

I think I might have been the last person to notice this salad dressing but I thought I'd pass it along just in case. I love making my own salad dressings and usually do (maybe that's why I didn't know about the Olive Garden dressing?) But I was looking for a dressing we had had at a party and couldn't resist this $3 bottle of deliciousness. It tastes like the real deal- much more than all the copy cat Olive Garden salad dressing recipes I've seen and tried on Pinterest. I'm not breaking up with homemade salad dressing (I have lots of great ideas on my board here) but I'm certainly going to buy another bottle of this when it runs out. I found mine at Walmart, $3 well spent!

The last thing I'm nibbling on most of the time is this cute girl. I think I'm going to call her baby Rosebud for now. She's adorable and delicious and about to wake up from her nap so it's time to cut this super eloquent blog post off.

Have you been eating anything amazing lately? Is there a salad dressing that I should have tried by now? Do tell!

May 13, 2013

Well it's no secret that the Anne Strawberry Kitchen has not lived up to it's potential lately. But, I was very busy baking up a very special treat- a sweet new baby girl! She's a perfect little pretty with the nicest snuggles and the sweetest personality (must have been all those chocolate chip cookies I craved). She's 2 months old now and I'm finally baking and {more importantly} making decent dinners again most nights. She definitely sapped my baking mojo while I was pregnant and I went weeks at a time without using my KitchenAid- a sad first for me!

I have missed my little corner of the blogosphere a lot, although it's kind of awkward to figure out how to break back in. I'm not taking gorgeous pictures of cupcakes very often though I still have dreams about new baked goods to invent and try out and love seeing what my friends are cooking. I'll try to post as often as I can and remember that this is still my favorite way to save and share my most loved recipes, even if it's not as fancy and perfect as I'd like it to be. Perfectionism is tricky, friends! Hopefully... I can remember that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful (or delicious).

Speaking of fancy and amazing food blogs, a few of my favorites are really great lately...

I always love finding new blogs and seeing what my favorite bloggers and reading and enjoying. Let me know if you have someone I should be following (while we still have Google Reader, right?)

We had a perfect Mother's Day yesterday and I've had a few Facebook friends request the trifle recipe I made. Since I just threw yummy things together until it looked right I'll work on making an actual recipe and get that up tomorrow hopefully. Until then, happy baking (and let me know if you have a suggestion for my sweet baby's new blog nick name! I hadn't thought about that until just now!)